Travis Smith is no stranger to the Silver and Black.
His NFL coaching career began in 2012 as a defensive assistant with the Oakland version and lasted 10 years, finishing his final season with the Las Vegas version in 2021.
advertise
Smith, 40, returns to the Las Vegas Raiders as defensive line coach after three seasons (2022-24) as the Chicago Bears defensive line coach and one year as the Tennessee Titans defensive run game coordinator. He joins the staff that new head coach Klint Kubiak is building, with Smith filling the defensive line coach spot vacated by Rob Leonard, who deservedly was promoted to defensive coordinator.
Smith’s position in Las Vegas marks the fourth time he has received oversight of a specific assignment or position group. In Oakland during the 2017 season, he served as the outside linebackers coach, and from 2019-21 he served as the assistant defensive line coach, spending two years under Rod Marinelli. He then spent three years as the defensive line boss in Chicago and his lone season as the defensive run specialist at Tennessee.
Smith’s return with the Raiders means more direct hands-on work with the defensive line spacing, and with his predecessor now leading the entire defense, he’ll be working with Leonard.
But like every coach Kubiak brings in, a unique challenge awaits. The most glaring question for Smith is defensive end Maxx Crosby, and specifically whether he stays or leaves, which is a conundrum.
Crosby got to work early in the Raiders’ building. The highly compensated pass rusher was wearing Raiders gear when he appeared in some interviews.
advertise
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders don’t want to trade the 28-year-old (29 as of August 22) defensive end, and if the team considers moving Crosby, they will take a Micah Parsons-style compensation package of two first-round picks and a player in return.
But what’s missing is an outright response: I don’t want to be traded.
Crosby is letting his actions speak for himself and does not appear to be commenting further.
Therefore, Smith must assume that he will have elite No. 98 and not only cause havoc against the pass and run game next season, but that he will be the type to lead by example since the end of his rookie season in 2019. Crosby led the Raiders last season with 10 sacks, 73 tackles for loss and a team-leading 28 tackles for loss. No other back has reached the five-sack mark in 2025, so Crosby’s departure will leave a void that Smith and Leonard can fill.
advertise
This is the elephant in the room. But as mentioned above, coaching and developing the entire defensive line space will also be a tall order for Smith.
The Raiders’ decisions on internal free agency, free agents hitting the open market in mid-March, April’s draft and free agency afterward could all help Smith as defensive line coach. Last season, defensive end Malcolm Koonce had 4.5 sacks, a distant second. Coons, who is currently recovering from a knee injury that cost him the 2024 season, showed the same pass-rushing ability later in 2025. But he is an unrestricted free agent.
Then there’s Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-5, 263-pound edge rusher excelled on and off the defensive line, tallying four sacks and 35 total tackles, including eight for a loss, in his third year. Wilson’s usage rate and steals hit career lows in 2025 with 463 snaps, compared to 525 in 2024 and 493 in his rookie year in 2023.
advertise
Wilson is entering the fourth and likely final year of his rookie contract. A first-rounder, Las Vegas did offer Wilson a fifth-year option. The Raiders’ decision on whether to exercise that option will be made this May. That would lock Wilson up for the 2027 season at a high price, which has yet to be determined. For context, the first-round edge rusher in the 2022 draft has a fifth-year option worth $15 to $17 million. At that range, it’s too high for a defensive end with no offensive ability or tackling ability.
Then there is the continued improvement of defensive tackles Jonah Laulu (25 years old, 51 total tackles, 4 sacks, 8 tackles for loss in 2025), Toka Hemingway (24 years old, 9 total tackles, 4 sacks, 5 tackles for loss), JJ Pegues (24 years old, 11 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss). There are also seniors Adam Bulter (31, 50 total tackles, 1 sack, 3 sacks) and Thomas Booker (26, 44 total tackles, 1 sack, 7 quarterback hits).
Smith’s high energy, attention to detail and focus on the day-to-day work will be a great addition to Kubiak’s staff in Las Vegas. This fits well with Leonard’s own coaching style, where a double whammy of skill and effort focus will help the overall defense.
advertise
It will be interesting to see how the coaching styles and energy mesh between Smith, Leonard and the rest of the coaching staff in Kubiak’s first season as head coach. But Smith does bring valuable coaching experience from his 14-year career to date. In 2025, the Titans’ run defense ranked 15th in yards allowed (1,948) and 17th in yards allowed per possession (4.3).
During Smith’s coaching tenure, he was involved in the development of the Raiders’ key pass rushers such as Khalil Mack, Yannick Ngakoue and Crosby in assistant roles. Smith will now have full control over his return to the Silver and Black. Oh, and Mack also had to adjust to the sudden departure of his star rusher when he was traded to the Bears. So if Crosby is shipped, he’s no stranger to losing an elite defender.
